The voice of progressivism

The voice of progressivism

by digby

From Howie:

Blue America was the first national group to endorse Ilya Sheyman and we were sad that the DCCC and other DC conservatives were able beat him in the primary last month. But we were as happy as can be that just to the southeast of his district, another outstanding movement progressive, Dr. David Gill, turned back those same forces and triumphed the same night that Ilya faltered. Hopefully Ilya will run again and win– and be greeted on the steps of Congress by David Gill, who has run several times already. Sometimes, as we saw with Donna Edwards and Alan Grayson, it takes more than one try.

Illinois’ newly redrawn 13th congressional district is very different from the one Dr. Gill has run in previously. It’s a D+1 district that voted for Obama by 11 points. But his opponent, conservative Republican Tim Johnson, David told us, “is still voting like he’s in his old 60-40 Republican district. He’s now voted for the extreme Ryan plan to end Medicare twice. He refused last summer to vote to raise the debt ceiling, an action that was necessary because of his votes for Bush’s wars and tax cuts for the rich. He’s been in Congress for six terms and he’s a 40-year politician. He’s out of touch with the district.”

David is a 20 year member of Physicians For a Single Health Payer Plan. “I became interested in running because of what I see on a daily basis in the health care industry as an ER doctor. We have a two-tiered system of access to healthcare in America and, frankly, the American health care system is failing a lot of people.” But if health care was got him interested in running originally, he’s as far from a one-issue candidate as you’ll find.

“Health care is one symptom of many. There are many areas impacted by our corporate governance. Retirement security, jobs, healthcare, education and restoring the health of our planet are all areas where private interests are trumping the public good in Congress. People get to Washington, spend too much time around corporate lobbyists and suddenly forget that Social Security is in better financial health than the Federal budget that’s been decimated by Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest. They forget that Climate Change is the biggest crisis we are facing today, not the deficit. They forget that we have a jobs crisis to fix. They’ve forgotten that government should be working to solve problems for regular people.”

And David was an outspoken opponent of the war in Iraq. He’s also opposed to the continued occupation of Afghanistan. “I’ve come to the realization the past few years that our presence in Afghanistan has outlived its usefulness. It’s time to end our mission there and get our troops out of harm’s way as soon as possible.”

He can win this race and bring a healthy dose of Prairie State populism to Washington.[With our help.] David just defeated a DCCC and New Democrat-backed congressional challenger who outspent him 5-1. He ran a strictly grassroots, people-powered campaign and he won without compromising his progressive values. as you can see in the video above. “I was willing to stand up and fight back against the Republican War on Women and special interest-domination of Congress and the residents of IL-13 responded and were willing to put their trust in me.”

David joined Howie for a live chat earlier today at Crooks and Liars. Here’s a sample of what a winning progressive sounds like:

Howie: The Beltway conventional wisdom is that it’s better to run as a “moderate”– by which they mean a conservative– in a swing district like IL-13. They seem to think voters aren’t ready for progressive solutions that have been caused by conservative policies. And you seem to embody a whole package of progressive solutions and from what I’m reading and hearing you’re campaigning hard on all the tough topics of the day that the DCCC tells their candidates to run away from. Forget for a moment Democratic voters who will vote for the Democratic candidate and Republican voters who will vote for the Republican candidate. Let’s just look at independents and swing voters. You’re meeting them and talking with them. Are they ready for your messages about hot social issues and about accountability for Wall Street crooks and the even issues that fly in the face of the official Democratic Party line. I’ve seen on your campaign website, for example, that you don’t favor the corporate trade policies that Democrats like Clinton and Obama push but that you’re an advocate for fair trade over so-called “free” trade. Do swing voters understand that kind of stuff?

David Gill: One of the big reasons Republicans won the House in 2010 was the ‘Mediscare’ Ads they ran telling seniors that the Affordable Care Act was going to cut their Medicare. Tim Johnson has now voted twice for the extreme Ryan Plan to end Medicare as we know it. Swing voters in this district, not just Democrats, want to know that Medicare and Social Security will be there for them and that politicians won’t take it away. As I recently told Bernie Schoenberg of the State Journal-Register (Springfield), my health care plan for “Improved Medicare For All” would be a way for people to have better health care, while also hanging on to more of their money by stopping the flow of 40 percent of our health care dollars into a black pit known as the private health insurance industry. And so, I don’t consider that an extremely progressive position. I consider it a people-oriented position.

If you saw the Gallup poll released yesterday, you saw Romney absolutely tanking with women in swing states. That’s no surprise to us. There’s a perception in Washington that women outside ‘Blue’ areas feel
differently about their right to contraception and women’s reproductive health services. They don’t. I think that in particular Tim Johnson’s participation in the Republican War on Women is going to really motivate previously apathetic women on the large college campuses (Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Springfield, Illinois State, Southern Illinois at Edwardsville) in this district to vote him out.

This district has a history of electing tough, independent-minded progressives. A good chunk of it was in the old IL-17, and was represented by Lane Evans and Phil Hare for many years. People I talk to at diners and county fairs nod in approval when I tell them that they may not all ways agree with me, but they’ll always know where I stand.

As far as how swing voters’ reaction to trade policy, in the very center of this district is Decatur, a national focal point of labor unrest in the 1990s. This district has seen its share of factory closures and layoffs and it’s all too aware of the effect that corporate free trade policies have had. From the reaction I’ve gotten from average voters, I expect my support for working people in this district to be a wedge issue that takes votes away from Tom Johnson and not a liability. People are fed up with Washington and people are fed up with Wall Street.

Read the whole chat if you have the chance. He’s a very smart candidate who’s thought through all these issues. The Party machine is unhappy that he won, of course, and are dong what they can to sow destructive dissent in the district. At this point I have to believe they’d rather lose the majority than back a progressive who doesn’t toe their line. (At the very least I have to question their arrogant assumption that they know best who can beat Republicans. If they were that good, Nancy Pelosi would still be speaker.)

David Gill’s a fighter for all the values and all the principles Blue America stands for. Congress will be a far better place if he’s elected. Please consider giving what you can. This is where we begin.

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